Visiting Pakistan has really provided me an opportunity to understand the meaning of globalization and exploitation.
I always thought it was very cruel that American companies and other developed world companies moved to the developing world and exploited the workers through cruel conditions and low salaries.
However, what I realized here in Pakistan is that labor is exploited whether or not it is a developing or developed country employer. Labor is extremely unpaid. For example, a maid who comes to work daily and washes clothing, sweeps and cleans the entire home and puts things in proper place, and even often cooks and washes the dishes, is paid only about 20-30 dollars per month by each family! That is crazy and should not be acceptable. A gatekeeper which is necesary in front of every building, and who opens the gate for every single person coming in or out 24 hours a day, and who does other odd jobs which might be necesary such as setting up the water or keeping things safe for you, or washing your car and helping you park your car, is only paid 100 dollars total in a month!
Kids of all ages are put to work in sewing or embroidery factories, or in shops to sell clothing or serve food. I have seen kids from 8-16 working all day with long hours. No one seems to realize that eight year olds should be in school and not at work.
Whether it is a child or an adult, people are working in really harsh conditions, in shops where there is no AC nor fan, shops with sharp corners, shop in unhygienic areas, and lots of rust everywhere. And even after being in such an environment all day, workers are paid a maximum of 150-200 dollars.
This to me a terrible exploitation.
Now think about this: American companies pay about 2-3 dollars a day means about a $60 dollar a month. Can you imagine the amount of money saved on salaries for one person? Assuming that American companies pay about $2500 to an American worker, and pay about $60 dollars to a foreign worker means saving $2440 dollars per person. And assuming that a large company has at least a 1000 workers, that is about a $2,440,000 dollar profit! Wow!
What I do not understand is why these companies do not simply pay about 10 dollars per day. It would not make things exactly "fair" since American workers would be getting more than 10 times as much, but at least this salary provides an affordable life for the foreign worker, and still provides a 2,200,000 profit for the company. To me, a 2 million plus profit after paying an affordable salary to workers seems like good logic to me.
I always thought it was very cruel that American companies and other developed world companies moved to the developing world and exploited the workers through cruel conditions and low salaries.
However, what I realized here in Pakistan is that labor is exploited whether or not it is a developing or developed country employer. Labor is extremely unpaid. For example, a maid who comes to work daily and washes clothing, sweeps and cleans the entire home and puts things in proper place, and even often cooks and washes the dishes, is paid only about 20-30 dollars per month by each family! That is crazy and should not be acceptable. A gatekeeper which is necesary in front of every building, and who opens the gate for every single person coming in or out 24 hours a day, and who does other odd jobs which might be necesary such as setting up the water or keeping things safe for you, or washing your car and helping you park your car, is only paid 100 dollars total in a month!
Kids of all ages are put to work in sewing or embroidery factories, or in shops to sell clothing or serve food. I have seen kids from 8-16 working all day with long hours. No one seems to realize that eight year olds should be in school and not at work.
Whether it is a child or an adult, people are working in really harsh conditions, in shops where there is no AC nor fan, shops with sharp corners, shop in unhygienic areas, and lots of rust everywhere. And even after being in such an environment all day, workers are paid a maximum of 150-200 dollars.
This to me a terrible exploitation.
Now think about this: American companies pay about 2-3 dollars a day means about a $60 dollar a month. Can you imagine the amount of money saved on salaries for one person? Assuming that American companies pay about $2500 to an American worker, and pay about $60 dollars to a foreign worker means saving $2440 dollars per person. And assuming that a large company has at least a 1000 workers, that is about a $2,440,000 dollar profit! Wow!
What I do not understand is why these companies do not simply pay about 10 dollars per day. It would not make things exactly "fair" since American workers would be getting more than 10 times as much, but at least this salary provides an affordable life for the foreign worker, and still provides a 2,200,000 profit for the company. To me, a 2 million plus profit after paying an affordable salary to workers seems like good logic to me.
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